SINGAPORE – Ms Calista Battista clocks out of work at 6.05pm, embarks on a 17.5km bike ride home to get some exercise in, starts to prepare a home-cooked meal at 7.50pm, and winds down for the night before getting into bed at around 11pm.
The 25-year-old senior digital marketing executive’s post-work routine is packaged into a sleek 30-second video which she shares on her TikTok account, which has over 2,900 followers.
This is her version of the “5-9 after a 9-5”, a social media trend popular with many Gen Zs and millennials who are choosing to maximise their post-work hours with meaningful activities.
“Many of us are afraid of falling victim to mundanity,” said Ms Battista, a Canadian who has been based in Singapore for about 1½ years.
“These videos are a way to escape that.”
Global and local social media users have taken to social media to document their “5-9” routines, with the hashtag #5to9 having over 48,000 videos on TikTok.
Another TikTok user who regularly features her routine on her page is Singaporean Simranjit Kaur. She told The Straits Times that making and posting such content motivates her to be productive outside of work.
“I feel that it’s very easy to want to go home and just bedrot or doomscroll, but making these videos make me look forward to having plans after work,” she said.
The 25-year-old consumer customer support associate, who also creates social media content part-time and documents running errands or exercise routines after work, added: “I don’t want to look back at my 20s and wonder where all the time went and if I just spent it all working.”
Ms Simranjit Kaur said making and posting her routine on TikTok motivates her to be productive outside of work.
PHOTO: HIIMSIMRAN/TIKTOK
Associate Professor Hong Renyi of the National University of Singapore’s communications and new media department said: “The 5-9 movement is driven by the attempt of young people to reclaim time and define themselves beyond their work… and shape a fuller sense of identity outside of work.”
Prof Hong added that the movement also redefines leisure time after work, from one that consists of traditionally passive activities, such as watching TV or scrolling on devices, to more active ones, such as picking up a skill or hobby.
On why more young people are choosing to document their routines, he said: “People want to share what they learn in their activity and treat that as a form of creative expression that provides them with a community beyond their workplace.”
Ms Kristina Gemzon, a business development manager, identifies with this.
“Social media makes the world feel like it’s within reach, and it’s reassuring to think that we can find and build connections with people we normally wouldn’t meet in our own circles,” said the 35-year-old, who moved to Singapore from the Philippines in 2024.
Having been inspired to make her own 5-9 videos after watching others’, Ms Gemzon said that her viewers have shared that they were inspired to do more with their evenings after watching her videos too.
“Ultimately, I think the trend of routine videos speaks to our curiosity about shared, human experiences and a broader yearning for connection and community,” she said.
Ms Sharah Capinpin, a biosciences researcher, said she watches about five of such videos a week, adding that she is interested in watching routines of people who are working in the same field as her.
The 30-year-old, who is a PhD student at NUS, said: “Seeing how they manage their life after work makes me feel like balance is possible, even watching people who bring their work home makes me feel like what I’m doing is normal.”
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